Highlights from The Class of 1973: July

The Watergate scandal was gaining momentum in July of 1973. But we had plenty of other things to take our minds off of it when we wanted.

Roger Moore made his debut as 007 with the release of the James Bond movie Live and Let Die (with music by Paul McCartney).

The Match Game was revived on daytime television with host Gene Rayburn and six celebrity panelists that included Richard Dawson, Vicki Lawrence, Jack Klugman, Michael Landon, and Jo Ann Pflug.

David Bowie shocked his fans in London when he announced onstage that he would be retiring his Ziggy Stardust stage persona.

The rock band Queen released their debut album.  And so did The New York Dolls.

And throughout the month, the #1 slot on the Top 40 was shared between Billy Preston (“Will It Go Round in Circles”) and Jim Croce (“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”).  But we’d soon get to know a bunch of other songs that came out that July:  “We’re an American Band” by Grand Funk, “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan, and “La Grange” by Z Z Top.

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Join Great Moments in Vinyl as we pay tribute to The Class of 1973 with the music and cultural highlights of 50 years ago.  It’s a fundraising concert for the Steger-South Chicago Heights Library.  Look for us at the Steger VFW on Saturday, November 4th.  The event begins at 5:00.  We’ll take the stage at 7:00.  Featuring Phil Angotti, Casey McDonough, Debbie Kaczynski, Jim Barclay, and William Lindsey Cochran.